Relatively soft and flexible compressible articles such as disposable diapers, catamenial pads, adult incontinent pads and the like, have entered widespread use in many parts of the world over the last 20-30 years. In the past, these articles were typically folded at their midpoint, collected in stacks and inserted into paperboard cartons or flexible bags or in the case of adult incontinent pads, packed bulk into corrugated containers. Pads were subject to little or no compression in a direction parallel to their thickness and the dimensions of the canons, bags or containers were generally determined by the number of articles contained in the stack or stacks contained within.
The bulk of the relatively low density flexible compressible articles in question has resulted in packages with high volume and low weight. This combination increases shipping, storage and handling costs for the manufacturer and the retailer, and detracts from the convenience of storage and use for the consumer. In addition, the relatively large volume of packaging material required for the disposable articles in an uncompressed condition, must be disposed of when the package has been fully emptied. Moreover, such excess packaging causes an undue amount of waste and is a burden on the environment.
Recently, in order to reduce package volume and its associated high costs, manufacturers have begun to package relatively high numbers of disposable articles under high compression in smaller, flexible plastic bags. An example of such a bag is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,619 SIDE OPENING FLEXIBLE BAG WITH LONGITUDINALLY ORIENTED CARRYING HANDLE SECURED TO SIDE PANELS, issued to Muckenfuhs on Oct. 8, 1991, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This reference discloses a side opening top gusset flexible plastic bag containing a stack of compressed flexible articles. The bag has top, bottom, front, back and side panels, wherein the side panels am under tension caused by the compressed articles contained therein. The bag has a continuous line of weakness located at least partially on one of the side panels to define a portion of the side panel which will be partially removed to gain access to the articles. These types of bags typically include a pull tab on the side panel for initiating the opening of the bag.
While the bag described in the Muckenfuhs patent works quite well, a drawback to the general types of packages described above is that the opening feature exposes only a portion of the pads for dispensing one or two at a time. Additionally, the perforation or line of weakness of the opening feature is typically applied in a cross machine direction as the bag is manufactured, thus requiring expensive tooling and potentially limiting production speeds.
Product for a significant portion of the adult incontinent market is sold through hospitals and nursing homes where the entire contents of the package are dispensed immediately upon opening the bag. As such, an easy open feature that exposes all pads for removal is desirable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a top opening feature that is easy to initiate and where the entire top portion of the bag can be easily removed.
It is another object of the invention to apply the line of weakness for the easy open feature in a direction parallel to the compressive forces of the bag, thus optimizing the line of weakness without danger of premature opening.
It is another object of the invention to provide the easy open feature such that the bag manufacturer can apply it in the machine direction as the bag is made, thus requiring inexpensive rotary tooling that will not negatively impact line speed.
These and other objects of the present Invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.